Honeywell: Helicopter Demand Strong Over Next Three Years

Honeywell’s 15th Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook, released earlier this month, forecasts a market for 4,900-5,600 new civil helicopters from 2013 to 2017. The report identifies “very strong” demand over the next three years from all regions of the world, with delivery rates expected to reach 1,000 units per year. For 2016 and 2017, similar delivery rates are possible “if economic recovery trends continue,” the outlook notes.

Purchase plans for the North America region are up for the first time in five years, rising 35 percent for the initial three-year period vs. Honeywell’s 2012 Outlook. Brian Sill, vice president of aftermarket helicopter sales, noted that rotorcraft usage is up in the offshore oil & gas, utility, training and corporate sectors.

Info-graphic courtesy of Honeywell.

The United States and Canada represent 27 percent of the total worldwide demand over the next five years, with the Western Hemisphere accounting for 47 percent of the total. Europe comes in at around 28 percent, with Asia/Oceania at 19 percent and Africa/Middle East at 6 percent of the total global demand.

Honeywell asked survey respondents to indicate their current level of satisfaction with the models they operate, asking the question, “How likely is it that you would recommend this model to a friend or colleague?” While the engine maker noted that “there were many other make/models currently in production that also received excellent scores,” the top six variants receiving 25 responses or more were (in alphabetical order): the AgustaWestland AW139, Bell 206 series, 407 and 412, Eurocopter EC130/AS350 and Sikorsky S-76. Those six types accounted for more than 50 percent of the customer satisfaction responses.

Operators are also indicating an increase in fleet utilization, with 10 percent in North America planning increases over the next 12 months and only 3 percent planning decreases. In Europe, the numbers are 16 percent increases/7 percent decreases, with Latin America 27 percent increase/5 percent decrease; Middle East and Africa 33 percent increase/15 percent decrease; and Asia coming in at 35 percent higher/6 percent lower.Related:Engine News

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